Ventilated plastic bag



March 15, 1955 R W|K| E VENTILAT'ED PLASTIC' BAG Filed Dc. 1, 1951 INVENTOR.

RICHARD H. WIKLE ATTORNEY United States Patent O VENTILATED PLASTIC BAG Richard H. Wikle, Atlanta, Ga.

Application December 1, 1951, Serial No. 259,348

3 Claims. (Cl. 150-1) This invention relates to ventilated plastic bags, and more particularly to ventilated bags made of thin plastic or synthetic rubber sheet material.

Imperforate bags made of thin plastic or synthetic rubber material have been extensively used, but attempts at making a satisfactory ventilated bag of thin plastic or synthetic rubber materials have been unsuccessful for the reason that it has been attempted to ventilate such bags by punching holes in the ordinary imperforate material from which such bags were made. Such practice resulted in unsatisfactory bags which were materially weakened and subject to tearing around the holes punched therein.

It is an object of my invention to provide a ventilated bag made of thin plastic or synthetic rubber sheet material having intersecting reinforcing ribs provided with perforations in the intersection of such ribs.

Another object of my invention is to provide a bag having extreme lightness and provision for ventilation in the finished article without detrimental sacrifice of strength.

Another object of my invention is to provide a ventilated bag of thin plastic or synthetic rubber sheet material which is economical to manufacture and durable in construction.

Other and further objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which like characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a blank from which a bag is made according to my invention.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of a bag made from the blank shown in Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 3 3 in Fig. 2 with a border portion of the blank sealed to form a closed end for the bag.

In the embodiment of my invention chosen for purpose of illustration, Fig. l shows a blank of thin sheet material which may be made of plastic or synthetic rubber materials, cellophane, re-generated cellulose, cellulose acetate, cellulose acetate butyrate, cellulose nitrate, ethyl cellulose, or any such cellulose derivatives, as well as products obtained by the polymerization of vinyl compounds and other plastic materials used in the plastic and synthetic rubber industry to make thin plastic films. As shown in Fig. l, this blank has a smooth border portion 10 around the outside, and the central or interior portion of the blank is criss-crossed by intersecting reinforcing ribs 11, and the blank is provided with perforations 12 at the intersections of these reinforcing ribs. It will thus be seen that the blank from which my bag is to be made is economical in the use of material because the material which would otherwise lie between the intersecting ribs 11 is forced up into the ribs which surround and provide adequate protection for the perforations 12 so as to prevent tearing at these points which have heretofore been points of weakness in prior art structures.

The reinforced, perforated blank of thin plastic sheet material from which my bag is made may be formed 2,704,099 Patented Mar. 15, 1955 ice by casting, extruding, calendering on engraved surfaces, or by other methods known in the plastic and synthetic rubber industry for making thin lms or sheet material and the like.

As shown in Fig. 2, the blank of Fig. 1 is folded upon itself in a manner customary in the bag-making art, and the smooth edges, or border portions of the bag, are fastened together by gluing, heat sealing, or other processes common in the bag-making art. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the completed envelope of the bag with the smooth border portions of the blank overlapping and fastened together and the bottom border portion sealed against itself in a manner as described above. When the bag is filled, the top border portion may be sealed in a manner similar to the sealing of the bottom border portion. Fromfthis view it will be noted that the interior wall of the bag is substantially smooth, whereas the outer wall of the bag is provided with the upstanding reinforcing ribs 11 which surround and protect the Ventilating perforations 12.

It will be obvious that my invention provides a needed article of great convenience and usefulness, and that while I have illustrated and described my invention in a very practical embodiment thereof without attempting to illustrate or describe other embodiments and adaptations which I contemplate, various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of my invention as dened in the following claims.

I claim:

1. 'In a ventilated bag formed of plastic sheet material, reinforcing ribs formed integrally with said sheet material, at least some of said ribs being arranged to intersect one another at a plurality of points, said sheet material being provided `with Ventilating openings through points of intersection of said ribs.

2. In a ventilated bag made of plastic sheet, a border surrounding said plastic sheet to form border portions along the sides thereof, said border portions being of greater thicknesses than said sheet and formed integrally therewith, and sets of spaced ribs extending between opposite border portions, said ribs being formed integrally with said sheet, at least some of said ribs in one set of ribs intersecting at least some of said ribs in the other set of ribs, said sheet and said ribs being provided with v ntilation openings at the intersection of the intersecting r1 s.

3. In a ventilated bag made of plastic sheet, a border surrounding said plastic sheet forming border portions along the sides thereof, said border portions being of greater thickness than said sheet and formed integrally therewith, sets of ribs extending between opposite border portions, said ribs in each set of said sets of ribs being formed integrally with said sheet and being spaced from eac other, at least some of said ribs in each set of ribs intersecting at least some of said ribs in the other of said sets of ribs, said sheet and said ribs being provided with ventilation openings through points of intersection of at least some of the intersecting ribs, two opposite border portions being joined to form a seam, and another border portion being sealed against itself.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,663,298 Geer et al. Mar. 20, 1928 2,024,429 Casey Dec. 17, 1935 2,055,002 Chandler Sept. 22, 1936 2,225,089 Vadnais Dec. 17, 1940 2,439,757 Sidnell Apr. 13, 1948 2,582,777 Grozinger Jan. l5, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 306,330 Great Britain Feb. 21, 1929 386,334 Great Britain Dec. 28, 1932 

